Fertilizer costs could be 40% of corn growers’ budgets this year

Input costs are still a big issue for farmers, an issue that has been around for several years now. This year, fertilizer costs are expected to be around 40 percent of the budget for corn growers.

Researchers at the University of Illinois say that number is closer to 28 percent for soybean growers. Over the last quarter century, they found that the global fertilizer market has expanded, with countries like China, Russia, Canada, and the United States becoming major fertilizer suppliers.

Most of these, U.S. included, rely on imports to meet our own fertilizer needs. Market analysts say it is important for farmers to understand the structure of the fertilizer market, as well as the risks.

Related Stories
Tidal Grow’s Align-N system delivers urea nitrogen directly to leaves, improving nutrient efficiency and boosting crop yields for farmers.
K-State’s Dr. Gregg Ibendahl breaks down the impacts of the Middle East ceasefire on energy markets and input costs, and what farmers should watch in the weeks ahead.
Tight global supply is likely to keep fuel and fertilizer costs elevated.
Farmer Jeffry Mitchell with the Mississippi Farm Bureau joins us for a spring planting update from the southeast region as drought, input costs, and fertilizer access complicate crop progress.
More Farms File for Bankruptcy As Strong Farm Loan Demand Boosts Bank Earnings
Rising fertilizer costs tied to tariffs are tightening margins for U.S. wheat growers, according to new data from the National Association of Wheat Growers.

LATEST STORIES BY THIS AUTHOR:

Trinity Barth and Liliann Tjaden-Duff joined us on Market Day Report to express their concerns about the future of the program that has, for 50 years, given students of all backgrounds a path to agriculture careers.
Agricultural irrigation return flow exemption and “Maui factors” are the topics of today’s Firm to Farm blog post by RFD-TV ag tax and legal expert Roger McEowen with Kansas’ Washburn School of Law.